Blackish Cinclodes
Encyclopedia
The Blackish Cinclodes is a passerine
bird
of the genus Cinclodes
belonging to the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is native to the southern tip of South America
including the Falkland Islands
where it is known as the Tussac-bird or Tussock-bird. It is often very tame and will approach humans closely.
is almost entirely dark brown. The throat is slightly paler with some buff speckling, there is a hint of a pale stripe over the eye and there is a faint reddish-brown bar on the wing. The bill
is quite long, stout and slightly downcurved with a pale yellow spot at the base (lacking in Falkland birds).
The song
and calls are loud and high-pitched. The trilling song may be uttered from a perch or in flight.
on beaches and in areas of tussac grass
. The nominate subspecies
C. a. antarcticus occurs on the Falklands where it is common on many smaller islands but scarce on West
and East Falkland
where it suffers from predation by introduced
cat
s and rat
s. The other subspecies C. a. maculirostris is found in southernmost Chile
and Argentina
on Tierra del Fuego
and surrounding islands.
s but also includes regurgitated fish taken from seabird
colonies, crumbs from around human settlements and scraps of carrion
. It forages among washed-up seaweed and along the water's edge.
is made of grass, lined with feathers and placed under rocks, grass clumps or buildings or in a hole in the ground. One to three eggs
are laid. These are white, sometimes with a few red spots. They are incubated
for two weeks and the young birds fledge
after another two weeks.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
of the genus Cinclodes
Cinclodes
Cinclodes is a genus of passerine birds belonging to the ovenbird family Furnariidae. There are about a dozen species distributed across the southern and Andean regions of South America. They are terrestrial birds of open habitats, typically found near water such as mountain streams and the...
belonging to the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is native to the southern tip of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
including the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
where it is known as the Tussac-bird or Tussock-bird. It is often very tame and will approach humans closely.
Description
It is 18 to 23 cm long. The sexes are similar and their plumagePlumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
is almost entirely dark brown. The throat is slightly paler with some buff speckling, there is a hint of a pale stripe over the eye and there is a faint reddish-brown bar on the wing. The bill
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
is quite long, stout and slightly downcurved with a pale yellow spot at the base (lacking in Falkland birds).
The song
Bird song
Bird vocalization includes both bird calls and bird songs. In non-technical use, bird songs are the bird sounds that are melodious to the human ear. In ornithology and birding, songs are distinguished by function from calls.-Definition:The distinction between songs and calls is based upon...
and calls are loud and high-pitched. The trilling song may be uttered from a perch or in flight.
Habitat and range
The Blackish Cinclodes is a bird of coasts and islands, commonly found among rocks, kelpKelp
Kelps are large seaweeds belonging to the brown algae in the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera....
on beaches and in areas of tussac grass
Poa flabellata
Poa flabellata , called Tussac Grass, is a species of tussock grass native to southern South America and the Falkland Islands. It has been introduced into Scotland as a source of fodder because of its ability to grow in hostile conditions...
. The nominate subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
C. a. antarcticus occurs on the Falklands where it is common on many smaller islands but scarce on West
West Falkland
West Falkland is the second largest of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. It is a hilly island, separated from East Falkland by Falkland Sound. Its area is and its coastline is long. Including the adjacent small islands the land area is .-Population:The island has fewer than 200...
and East Falkland
East Falkland
East Falkland the largest of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic, has an area of and a coastline long. Most of the population of the Falklands live in East Falkland, almost all of them living in the northern half of the island...
where it suffers from predation by introduced
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
cat
Cat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
s and rat
Rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
s. The other subspecies C. a. maculirostris is found in southernmost Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
on Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of a main island Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego divided between Chile and Argentina with an area of , and a group of smaller islands including Cape...
and surrounding islands.
Feeding
The diet consists mainly of small invertebrateInvertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
s but also includes regurgitated fish taken from seabird
Seabird
Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...
colonies, crumbs from around human settlements and scraps of carrion
Carrion
Carrion refers to the carcass of a dead animal. Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters include vultures, hawks, eagles, hyenas, Virginia Opossum, Tasmanian Devils, coyotes, Komodo dragons, and burying beetles...
. It forages among washed-up seaweed and along the water's edge.
Reproduction
The breeding season lasts from September to December and two broods are often raised. The cup-shaped nestNest
A nest is a place of refuge to hold an animal's eggs or provide a place to live or raise offspring. They are usually made of some organic material such as twigs, grass, and leaves; or may simply be a depression in the ground, or a hole in a tree, rock or building...
is made of grass, lined with feathers and placed under rocks, grass clumps or buildings or in a hole in the ground. One to three eggs
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
are laid. These are white, sometimes with a few red spots. They are incubated
Avian incubation
Incubation refers to the process by which certain oviparous animals hatch their eggs, and to the development of the embryo within the egg. The most vital factor of incubation is the constant temperature required for its development over a specific period. Especially in domestic fowl, the act of...
for two weeks and the young birds fledge
Fledge
Fledge is the stage in a young bird's life when the feathers and wing muscles are sufficiently developed for flight. It also describes the act of a chick's parents raising it to a fully grown state...
after another two weeks.